(PHOENIX) – US Airways (NYSE: LCC) and the Phoenix office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that the US Airways headquarters building in Tempe, AZ, has received Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)® for Existing Buildings Rating System.
The LEED® green building certification program is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for buildings designed, constructed and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.
A Gold certification is the second highest level of achievement in the LEED program.
Managed by Hines, the building is one of five properties in the United States (and the only in Arizona) to have earned 10 consecutive ENERGY STAR® labels—one for every year since the building’s first full year of operations in 2000.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy designed to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
The ENERGY STAR label is earned when a building achieves a rating of 75 or higher, and the rating, or “score,” indicates the percentage of buildings in the United States that the labeled building outperforms in terms of energy consumption.
US Airway’s headquarters has an ENERGY STAR rating of 93.
US Airways Vice President, Corporate Real Estate Michael Minerva said, “We are proud of our 10-year partnership with Hines and are very pleased with this achievement. This year’s Gold certification, and the 10 consecutive years Hines and US Airways have achieved the ENERGY STAR label, affirm that businesses and property management companies can partner together to reduce their carbon footprint and better serve the communities in which they operate.”
The US Airways headquarters building is a 218,000-square-foot, nine-story office building designed by SmithGroup and Leo A. Daly.
Hines began benchmarking the property using ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager immediately after development was completed in 1999.
More recently, Hines and US Airways engaged consultant SSRCx to facilitate the property’s LEED certification.
As a result of various operational enhancements and meticulous preventive maintenance, US Airways’ headquarters is 45 percent more energy efficient; annually saving $1.41 per square foot in energy costs when compared to the national average office building.
This translates to greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing 360 passenger vehicles from the road.
The building also uses 31 percent less water than comparable office buildings performing at the minimum federal standard for water efficiency.
Sustainable features of the property include: energy efficient lighting in the building and garage, Xeriscape desert landscaping, low-flow aerators at each lavatory, dual flush valves, high-efficiency air filtration, high-performance cleaning and extensive paper/refuse recycling.
Hines Executive Vice President and CEO of the Southwest Region Mark Cover added, “Existing buildings comprise the vast majority of the national building stock and therefore represent our industry’s best opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment. Cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades can also unlock tremendous latent value, which is increasingly important in these economic times.” ”
About US Airways
US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,000 flights per day and serves more than 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America. The airline employs more than 32,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers its customers more than 19,000 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries. Together with its US Airways Express partners, the airline serves approximately 80 million passengers each year and operates hubs in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix, and a focus city at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. And for the 11th consecutive year, the airline received a Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration for its Charlotte hub line maintenance facility. For more company information, visit www.usairways.com.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building certification program, robust educational offerings, a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities.
About Hines
Hines is one of the most sustainable real estate companies in the world.
In 2009 Hines was recognized by the EPA, for the second time, with the ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award; Hines has labelled more than 138 buildings, representing approximately 77 million square feet, in the ENERGY STAR program.
Twelve Hines development or redevelopment projects, representing more than six million square feet, have been designated as Designed to the Earn the ENERGY STAR.
Hines is also a leader in the U.S. Green Building Council’s programs, with 145 projects, representing more than 89 million square feet that have been certified, pre-certified or registered under the various LEED rating systems.
Hines was a founding member of the German Sustainable Building Council, and is active in the BRE Environmental Assessment Method program in the United Kingdom and the Haute Qualité Environnementale program in France.
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes
1,111 properties representing more than 449 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in more than 100 cities in 17 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $22.9 billion, Hines is one of the largest sustainable real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
To learn more about sustainability at Hines, visit www.hines.com/sustainability.